W Reid 30
Match Information
Attendance: 16,000
Referee: R.T. Murray (Stenhousemuir)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
Mistakes are not often to be set against the Hibernian defenders, but it must be confessed that Girdwood gifted a point to the Rangers by making a blunder that allowed Reid to get home with a clever bit of opportunism. The incident occurred after half-an-hour’s play. A long ball having been sent down, Girdwood elected to see it over the bye-line, rather than make an attempt to clear. This was mistaken policy against an opportunist such as Reid, as the back realised when the centre slipped round him and scored from a difficult angle. Up to this stage the Hibs had been pleasing their friends quite well. If their forwards seldom did anything worthy of name, their defenders pursued spoiling tactics that proved very disconcerting to the Rangers. In this connection, Paterson was prominent, and Templeton positively brilliant. The clever tackling and sure kicking of the back were the features of the game. I think there must be something in the story that Templeton had an eye cast in the direction of Ibrox in his junior days. Against this sort of opposition, the Rangers’ forwards found it difficult to settle down. At their worst, however, they suggested danger to a much greater extent than did the Hibs’ front rank, who were woefully weak at close quarters. Both before and after the interval Rae had splendid opportunities of equalising, but on each occasion his shooting was execrable. Nor was he the only sinner; the inside forwards were all weak. But for this ineffectiveness in front of goal, the Easter Road men might have won. I heard many people express the view that they were unlucky to lose. So they were – in a sense – but it must be kept in mind that the team which has a fraction less of the play may quite well deserve to win if what it does is done better. So it was in this game. The Rangers’ forwards play had about it a polish that was lacking in the corresponding division of the Hibs’ team. I am not to be held as saying that the forward play of the champions was all that could be desired. It was only good by comparison. Hogg, Reid and Smith did better than the other, though the centre got little rope from Paterson. Not much was seen of Montgomery and Ramsay did not quite maintain his fine opening form. It seemed to me that Smith and Gordon were inclined to play together – and well they did combine – almost to the exclusion of the Queen’s Park man. He will get into the swim in due course. Though playing on the left wing Gordon was still the Rangers’ best half-back Brown played a steady game on the other wing. Well-equipped physically, Logan was a strong man at centre-half, so strong that he can afford to discard some little points that are not quite in the game. Campbell was the better of a pair of backs who improved as the game progressed. In the case of Ormonde the improvement was particularly necessary, his play in the first half being none too sound. Little fault could be found with Farrington’s display in goal. If his work did not always inspire the same confidence as that of Allan in the other goal, it could at least be said of him that he made some good saves and no real mistake. A goalkeeper of Allan’s stamp in not to be met was every day. While all his work was good, few finer saves have been seen at Easter Road than that which he made when Hogg was allowed to get in a great shot following upon a free kick just inside the penalty area. None of the four backs on view did so well as Templeton, but his good work lost some of its effect through Girdwood being somewhat off form. Probably the more weighty man was feeling the ankle injury which almost persuaded the Hibernian directors to let him stand down for the day. Paterson carried off honours among a hard-working and effective set of half-backs, who however, were kept so busily engaged in be spoiling their opponents that they had little time left to consider how best to attend to their own forwards. As ids the invariable rule nowadays Smith was the best of the Hibernian forwards. He showed good running at times, but received poor support. In a lesser degree the same may be said of Rae. None of the three inside men justified his inclusion, and the Hibs have more experimenting to do before a successful line is evolved.
